For younger Chinese today, the Tiananmen Square massacre is a story 'made up' by the Americans—or if anything did take place it was 'a CIA conspiracy.'

By

Benjamin L. Read

May 30, 2014 5:47 p.m. ET

A quarter-century has passed since the 1989 movement that shook Beijing and almost brought down the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Yet the passage of time has not necessarily made it easier to grasp the full dimension of the six weeks of protests around the country and the brutal suppression that began on June 3.

The university students who formed the backbone of the movement are now well into their mid-40s, and many Tiananmen...